While sitting in my room writing I was annoyed by flies. I
had, just before me, a bottle of Calvert's Carbolic acid
in crystals. The idea suggested itself to prepare a strong solution, and place it on the
desk before me, thinking the odor would banish the flies. The smell of the acid was
disagreeable to me at first, but it was successful in ridding the room of flies. I continued
to write for about half an hour, when I began to feel faint. More especially did I feel this
faintness at the stomach. My head was not affected at first, but in about ten minutes after
the faintness came on, my head began to feel as if it was inflated like a ball. The greatest
pressure seemed to be in the temples. It seemed to me that if I could turn my eyes sideways,
I should see my temples sticking out. (Prominent symptom.) There was no pain at first in the
head, but this peculiar pressure from the inside, which resembled pain, was not exactly
unpleasant, because it was so strangely novel. I would often stop writing and shake my head,
which would seem to increase the pressure, merely for the gratification of the peculiar
feeling it afforded me. In about an hour from the time I prepared the acid, the faintness
had become so general that I was obliged to stop writing. I attempted to rise, when I found
my legs so weak that I could with difficulty stand. The moment I attempted to rise, the
sensation in my head was so peculiar that I could not refrain from laughing. I soon felt
serious, as the faintness obliged me to sit down. My mind, which before I mixed the acid,
had been rather sluggish, now seemed to be teeming with delightful ideas, which came much
faster than I could give them shape in words. I attempted to use my pen again, but found my
arms so weak that I could not trace a line. I had not, as yet, thought what produced my
strange feelings, and I attempted to analyze them. I became alarmed. I got up, and with some
difficulty I went to another room. The moment I stood on my feet I seemed to lose all
feeling, except in the head. That seemed to be increased to ten times its natural size, and
the best description I can give of my difficult walk to my friend's room is, that I lost all
realization that I possessed a body, and that my head seemed to float in the air. Arriving
at the room, I found no one there; I lay down on the lounge and soon began to feel better.
The strange symptoms abated in the order in which they came on; first the weakness of the
stomach grew less, then the head seemed to grow smaller, and my active brain became more
calm and quiet. I remained lying about twenty minutes, then got up and walked to my room
again. I still felt weak, and had a dull aching distress in the stomach, my head still
feeling somewhat giddy. The moment I opened the door of my room, the odor of the acid forced
itself upon me as the cause of my trouble; I at once threw the solution out of the window,
opened the doors and windows, and aired the room. I was now called to tea. As soon as I
entered the dining-room it seemed as if I could smell everything on the table, even the
bread and butter. The moment my eye rested on a thing I could smell it, even at the farther
end of the table. This sense of smell seemed to satisfy my appetite, and I ate but a small
piece of bread, excused myself, and retired to my room. I soon had a desire to go to the
water-closet. The moment I entered it, it seemed as if I should be overpowered with the
stench. I could not remain, but went back to my room. The water-closet was no more foul than
ordinary water-closets, but it was half an hour before I ceased to smell that peculiar
sickening odor. I seemed rather inclined to smile at my strange feelings. I was in a happy
frame of mind, thinking only of pleasant things. I lay down on the bed, and had it not been
for the distress in my stomach, should have been quite happy. This distress was worse when
lying on either side, but was easier when lying upon the back, with my legs drawn up. In
this position I fell asleep, and remained so till some one aroused me. I found that I had
slept about two hours and a half. I had had no dreams, but should judge that my sleep had
been very uneasy, as my bed was very much disarranged. It seemed as if I had been all over
it; in fact, I was lying across it when I awoke. The distress in my stomach had now given
way to a deathly faintness, and my head felt bruised and sore. I at once began to undress.
While doing so I was obliged several times to stop and rest. I though I should faint before
I could get into bed. I was not alarmed, but seemed rather pleased with my peculiar
feelings. I attempted to whistle and sing, but had not the strength. Soon after getting into
bed I fell asleep in the same position as before, on my back, with my legs drawn up. I did
not awake till 6 o'clock next morning, but what was strange with me, I was wide awake in an
instant. There was no rubbing the eyes nor stretching, but from sound sleep I passed in an
instant to absolute wakefulness. I did not feel as weak as the night before, but had all the
symptoms of a bad diarrha, with a disagreeable, hot, burning sensation in the rectum. With
that I felt as if I had taken a large dose of Opium.
Particularly did I feel this Opium symptom in my head.
But what was my disgust, when I arose from my bed, to find that I had passed several small
stools, involuntarily, during the night. I went to the water-closet, and although I had all
the symptoms of a diarrha, had no movement of the bowels. I went to my room and took one
dose of Arsen. alb. 3d, and then went to breakfast. Had
no desire for food. Drank part of a cup of tea (usually drink coffee), and ate a small piece
of dry toast. Food seemed to cause nausea. The Opium
symptom in the head still continued; was worse when walking; going up or down stairs made me
giddy. Cold water caused nausea. Could not wipe my face with a towel, it was so sensitive to
touch. It hurt me to comb or brush my hair. I now went out so visit my patients, but the
jarring motion of the carriage increased all my bad feelings, so that I was obliged to
return to the house. I now began to feel a bruised or sore feeling through the small of the
back and bowels. By noon this feeling had gone into the hips, which ached badly. The burning
feeling in the rectum was very troublesome, so much so that I took a cold-water injection.
My bowels seemed filled with flatulence. Did not go to dinner, had no desire for food, the
thought of it was unpleasant. About two o'clock I had a stool, not large, but passed with
considerable flatulence. The stool appeared as if composed of thick glue, and mixed with
currant seeds, though I had eaten nothing of the kind. It was passed in thin strips, very
much like tape. This same peculiarity I noticed in the involuntary stool I passed the night
before. Towards night the pain in my hips had passed into the right leg, from the hip to the
knee. I did not eat any supper, but retired early, and passed rather a restless night. The
pains in my right leg prevented me from sleeping. In the morning the pain had gone from the
knee to the foot, and during the day passed of altogether. My bowels however, continued to
be sore, and my head was still troubled with the Opium
symptom. All the strange feelings gradually grew less, and in three days were nearly gone.
Previous to my exposing myself to the fumes of the acid, my health had been good, and during
the unpleasantness I took no remedy except the Arsen. I have twice since experienced similar
symptoms when exposed to Carbolic acid vapor, [60]. [610.]► Insensible, retching,
the breathing stertorous, the pupils much contracted, and the pulse intermittent; strong
smell of acid from the stomach; the mouth, tongue, and fauces presented a white, corroded
appearance, [48]. ►
Insensible; face quite livid, bathed in profuse clammy perspiration; pupils contracted and
not responding to light; mouth open, filled with frothy mucus; respiration stertorous; pulse
imperceptible; heart-sounds scarcely audible (in five minutes), [49]. ► Totally insensible;
pulseless; pupils dilated; face pallid and pinched; respiration of a gasping character;
involuntary discharge of urine (in two minutes), [50].
► As soon as the mixture was swallowed, it came foaming
out of the mouth, and the patient asked, "What is this you have given me? it
burns;" unconscious; pupils contracted and insensible; breathing about 50 per minute;
pulse 150, rather small, feeble, and intermittent; surface bathed in clammy perspiration;
the mouth and throat, as far as could be seen, were whitened by the action of the Carbolic
acid; the pharynx and larynx were filled with mucus, giving rise to tracheal râles (after
ten minutes); countenance indicating a cyanosed condition; superficial veins of head
distended, [51]. ►
Immediately became insensible, falling down suddenly as if in a fit; on his recovery he said
he remembered nothing whatever of tasting the liquid. An attack of acute gastritis followed.
The urine passed the day after the accident was almost black, but was free from turbidity,
and no trace of Carbolic acid, blood, or albumen could be detected in it, [52]. ► In about twenty minutes
she was found unconscious, collapsed, and blanched. The breathing was stertorous; the pupils
were contracted; the pulse was hardly perceptible, not rapid. In about three hours the
surface of the body was cold, there were convulsive twitchings of the limbs, and she vomited
some blood and oily matter. The next day she continued to vomit a greenish watery matter.
The bowels had acted several times, the motions being at first black, afterwards dark brown,
and without odor of Carbolic acid. The urine is of a smoky color and aromatic odor. The
addition of strong Sulphuric acid to it causes a purple color, changing rapidly to blue; no
odor of Carbolic acid is given off. No albumen present. She complains of great burning pain
in throat and epigastrium. There is tenderness on pressure over the stomach and cæcum.
Fauces reddened and covered with mucous exudation. There is a dark-brown stain on the skin
of the upper lip, and running down the left side of the mouth and chin. Pulse rapid;
temperature in evening 102°, [53]. ► Unconsciousness was rapidly becoming absolute, the face
dusky, the skin was moist and pupils dilated, while the pulse was rapid, irregular, and
scarcely perceptible; the breathing remained regular, although the relaxation of the soft
palate rendered it noisy. In about an hour after the poisoning coma was complete, the face
perfectly livid, the pupils dilated, the skin secreting perspiration in the most
extraordinarily profuse manner, the surface of the body warm, as also were the extremities,
with the exception of the hands, the pulse at the wrist imperceptible, and the muscles of
the soft palate and tongue so entirely relaxed that is was necessary to keep the latter
organ extended with catch-forceps to prevent it from falling back upon the glottis. On
recovery she was entirely ignorant of what had occurred, and did not know that any mistake
had been made. She complained of no pain except in the tongue, but remained in partial
prostration for some days, and suffered from an attack of gastric catarrh, [55]. ► Immediately after the
child swallowed the acid, he began to run around the room crying; on being taken up he
instantly became unconscious, turned livid in the face, his eyes staring, breathing slowly
and noisily, and foaming at the mouth and nose. Soon after the larynx was full of râles.
Face pale, cheeks livid, pupils dilated and not responding to light, and there was slight
twitchings of the muscles of the extremities. The capillary circulation was very slow. There
was a streak of excoriation upon the chin, where some of the acid had run. The next day the
uvula was found whitened and shrivelled. He had passed in the morning about a pint of clear
urine, of a dark olive-green color, without odor; and had been troubled in the night with a
croupy cough, [62]. ►
Immediately became unconscious, breathing laboriously; face pale, and covered with a cold
clammy sweat, with convulsive twitching of the facial muscles, and trembling of the limbs;
the jaws were firmly compressed, while the pulse was small, and almost imperceptible. He
recovered in about three hours, but there remained some soreness and reddening of the mouth
and gullet, with a burning pain at the epigastrium. The urine, which was passed voluntarily,
showed traces of albumen, and assumed a dark-green color, which again disappeared in the
course of the following day. Simultaneously all symptoms of cystitis disappeared, and the
patient made a good recovery, [63]. ► On the removal of the syringe the patient said something
"became numb and commenced to jerk." The respiration was 30 in the minute, and
superficial; the pulse was 168 at first, but in the course of the next two hours it fell to
120, [61]. ► One
evening it was observed that after the solution had been thus injected, little or none of it
flowed away, and at the same instant the patient uttered an exclamation, and suddenly became
unconscious, with tremor of limbs, pallor of skin, clammy sweat, and intermittent laborious
respiration, imperceptible pulse, etc. The next day, she wholly recovered from the above
symptoms. There existed, however, for some days, an irritative vesical catarrh, caused
doubtless by the rapid elimination of a considerable quantity of the poison. The urine,
which for the first twenty-four hours, showed the usual dark-greenish color, now became acid
and albuminous, depositing a thick sediment of pus, [64].
[620.]► Great
debility; violent burning sensation from the fauces down to and into the stomach; pulse
full, slow, regular, and strong; semicomatose condition; she could only with difficulty be
made to understand any question; she could scarcely move her limbs, and when raised they
dropped like those of one dead drunk, as indeed she was, [58].
► Insensible (after a few seconds); skin pale, with cold
sweat; features livid; breathing labored; mucous râles, almost to suffocation; pulse 110,
small and hard; pupils partially dilated (after twenty-five minutes); convulsions in fifteen
minutes after insensibility, that returned every few minutes, [57].
► Immediately slight convulsions set in, followed by
unconsciousness, cold sweat, pulse hardly to be felt; the convulsions lasted for an hour,
when consciousness returned. Breath smells of Carbolic acid. Lips, gums, pharynx coated with
a white membrane. White membranes were ejected by the mouth. Other membranes were thrown off
the next day. Stool and urine pass involuntarily; the latter gives the linen the color of
red wine, [59]. ►
Almost immediately afterward she was seized with convulsions, and there was a complete loss
of consciousness, cold perspiration, imperceptible pulse, strong odor of Carbolic acid in
breath; lips, tongue, gums, and pharynx covered with a white slough. The convulsive attacks
continued for an hour, but were not severe. Consciousness returned in an hour; there was
great pain in the neck and stomach, and difficulty in swallowing even small quantities of
milk; the mouth was filled with a thick saliva. There was vomiting, the vomitus being a
white, creamy substance, smelling of Carbolic acid; involuntary fecal discharges, not at all
abnormal in appearance; but the urine, which was also voided involuntarily, left a stain on
the linen resembling that made by dark-red wine, [56].
► Face of a leaden hue, and bathed with cold sweat; eyes
fixed, and the pupils slightly dilated; extremities cold and completely insensible;
breathing stertorous; slight convulsions, [54]. ► In five minutes in a state of collapse, pale, and cold, with
clammy perspiration on the forehead. The radial pulse was about 112, and scarcely
distinguishable; the conjunctiva was insensible to touch, and the pupils were dilated and
immovable; respiratory movements almost imperceptible, about 56 per minute; froth exuded
from the nostrils. The breath smelt strongly of Carbolic acid, and marks of erosion were
seen on either side of the upper lip, [63]. ► Chill, attended with great nervousness and distress, although
profusely warm; unsteady, weak, and irregular pulse; great giddiness and impending
convulsions. He recovered from this "chill," but continued exceedingly dizzy for
three days longer, [66].